Setting up your

media relations
program
PRO527
What Is Media Relations?
 Media relations is often one of the more cost-effective
ways to build membership or influence public
perception.
 Selecting the appropriate media relations activity and
knowing how to implement it effectively can make all
the difference in your level of success.
 Media relations leverages the media as a
communications channel to the publics you are trying
to reach.
Primary media relations
activities
 Developing and maintaining positive relationships with
the media
 Providing reporters with newsworthy information and
story ideas (through news releases, pitch letters, by-
lined articles, letters-to-the-editor, etc.)
 Answering reporters' questions with accurate and well-
thought-out information in a timely manner.
Aids to media
communication
 There are several things which will expedite
communication between you and the media.
 Starting these aids requires a substantial amount of
work but once they are done, it is a simple matter of
keeping them up to date:
 Media Contact Card
 Media File
 Fact sheets
Why cultivate good media
relations?
 The media influences public perception.
 A news story can sway public opinion either
positively or negatively toward your cause. While it’s
not always possible to have your issue portrayed in
the best possible light, doing your part to shape
media coverage and public perception can help.

 The media influences decision makers.

 You can use media coverage as a carrot or a stick
to pressure decision makers to do the right thing.
Targeted media can help light a fire under an issue
that would otherwise have been ignored.
Why cultivate good media
relations?
 Your cause gets free publicity.
 Aside from the almost negligible cost of sending initial e-
mails or making phone calls, news coverage of your story
is publicity that money doesn’t need to buy.

 The media can warn you about potential negative

coverage.
 If your story won’t be covered as positively as you’d
hoped, or if a backlash is imminent, you might get a
heads-up from a friendly reporter, enabling you to take
corrective action quickly.
Building good media relationship:
Understanding the ideal-typical
values of the journalistic ideology
 public service: journalists provide a public service (as
watchdogs or ‘newshounds’, active collectors and
disseminators of information);
 objectivity: journalists are impartial, neutral, objective,
fair, and (thus) credible;
 autonomy: journalists must be autonomous, free, and
independent in their work;
 immediacy: journalists have a sense of immediacy,
actuality, and speed (inherent in the concept of
‘news’); and
 ethics: journalists have a sense of ethics, validity, and
legitimacy
What makes news: learning to
give editors and journalist what
they need
From a publicist’s standpoint, the media are essential
for the effective dissemination of news about a client or
an organization.
Strive for news value – check at least a couple of boxes
as to what the media would consider as news.
Don’t forget the 7Cs of effective communication.
In a nutshell, your job is to provide the media with
accurate, timely and comprehensive information
7 Cs of Effective Communication
1 Completeness When you are asked a question, answer all the
questions and if you don’t understand , CLARIFY, don’t
just leave it blank. It applies on whether you are
answering questions from the media or you are
answering letters.

2 Concreteness Avoid unnecessary repetition and wordy

statements. Be specific, definite and vivid rather
than vague and general.

Be sincere, tactful, thoughtful and

appreciative. Omit expressions that irritate,
3 Courtesy hurt or belittle. Grant and apologize good
naturedly

Use the correct level of language. Include only

4 Correctness
accurate facts, words and figures. Maintain
acceptable writing mechanics.

Be clear. Recipients should understand your

5 Clarity meaning upon the first reading/listening.

Prepare message with the recipient in mind. Use empathy

6 Consideration and understanding.

Saying what you have to say in the fewest possible

7 Conciseness words without sacrificing COMPLETENESS and

COURTESY
Knowing the Gatekeeper

 A gatekeeper is a person who decides whether a

given message will be distributed by a mass medium.
 We need to remember that journalists are inhabitants
of their own society, which objects them to outside
and inside burdens and pressures, usually proposed
upon them by higher influences within their media
organizations and selected audiences; i.e.
governments, big corporations, advertisers.
 Within the media organization, there are layers of
people filtering the news. It’s important that publicists
try to be on good terms with at lease 1-3 editors from
different layers.
Knowing the Gatekeeper
News Sources

 For a publicist, there are two sources of news in your

organizations: events and situations.
 While events are vigorously planned, situations refer to
instances that sometimes do not require prior
planning. These would include:
 Dealing with the media when an issue or crisis requires us
to frame our responses instantly but cautiously
 Finding stories within our own people
 Finding opportunities in current issues and discourses to
tell our stand or our contribution to address issues or
portray our stewardship
Guidelines for generating a good
relationship with the media

 Be available - As the spokesperson for an organization,

it is your responsibility to be accessible 24/7. Key
reporters should have your office and mobile numbers.
 Be truthful - Shoot squarely. Give accurate and
complete information even if the story (news) doesn’t
do too much for the image of the organization.
 Give service – Provide newsworthy, interesting, and
timely stories and pictures that the media want, when
they want them, and in a form they can readily use.
Also offer story ideas that are outside your interests
(public service).
 Be accurate - Your facts and figures must be clear
and dependable.
 Answer questions - There are only three acceptable
answers: (1) Here it is, (2) I don’t know but I will find out
for you, and (3) I know, but I can’t tell you now
because…….. . A “no comment” is not one of the
three alternatives.
 Protect exclusives - If a reporter has found a story,
don’t give it to anyone else. Protect journalistic
initiative. If another reporter also discovers it, the
matter is out of your hands.
 Protect sources - If a reporter tips you off something,
you must conceal the source just as the reporter
protects his sources.
 Give all the news - This means bad as well as good
news.
 Do not ask for kills – don’t ask the media to suppress or
kill a story.
 Help photographers - You may be able to suggest
newsworthy ideas of which he or she is not aware of;
and help them set up pictures.
 Balance treatment of media - Competing media
deserve equal opportunity to receive information.
Don’t favor one news outlet over others.
 Explain - Most reporters don’t understand your
organization or even the nature of your business. Give
them background briefings and materials; tell them
how decisions were made and why.
 Provide requested information - Get back to a
reporter if you don’t have the information at the time
of inquiry.
 Do not beg or carp – Don’t beg to have stories used or
complain about story treatment. And don’t threaten
to pull out advertising if you don’t get your way.
 Remember deadlines - The reporter must have
adequate time to write a story. One good rule is to talk
with a reporter several days before you hope to see
the story published.
 Praise good work - If a reporter has written a good and
accurate story, a note of thanks (cc’ed to his or her
editor) would be appreciated.
Handling requests for
information
 If you initiate interest in the topic, you cannot duck
reporters’ follow-up calls. If the reporter originated the
contact, your organization’s objectives, policy, and
style will dictate your response.
 Remind people with whom you write and clear a news
release that most publications and stations will call
with additional questions sometimes. Include
anticipated media questions and agreed-upon
answers. Ensure your internal contacts (and yourself)
are available on the day you issue the release.
 Brief whoever answers the phone on the release’s
importance and the proper way to rapidly handle the
call it generates.
 If called to comment on general public issues,
consider your organization’s prominence in your
community, your organization leaders’ personal style
and civic involvement. Follow media coverage of key
issues.
 Don’t hesitate to ask reporters your own questions so
that you have a full understanding of the story s/he is
working on.
Do I have to tell all?

 There are legitimate reasons why you’d refuse to

divulge information but never give a terse “no
comment.” Tell the reporter why you can’t discuss an
issue in much detail.
 it involves proprietary information that will work to your
competitors’ advantage
 you’re in the midst of a sensitive labor negotiation
 it’s too soon after the incident to know what actually
happened
 your lawyers have not received the court papers yet, etc.
Do I have to tell all?

 If you sense that a reporter is on a ‘fishing expedition’

rather than a story, firmly ask him/her to determine the
focus of the piece, then say you will be “pleased to
help.” Sometimes no publicity is better than frivolous
publicity.
 Ex. you may want to decline a guest appearance on a
TV or radio interview when you know that the host has a
reputation for asking loaded questions, or espousing
positions contrary to your organization’s.
 Other legitimate times to say ‘no’ is when you can’t
confirm that a freelance writer or photographer is
actually on assignment for a publication or station.
How to handle errors

 In most cases, be charitable and do nothing. Most errors

are insignificant in the context of the overall story.
 Contact the reporter to request the item be corrected in
the morgue. E.g. misstatement about your product line,
size of your facility, name misspelled, incorrect title of one
of your executives, etc;
 Write a letter to the editor, especially when you feel your
position was not adequately stated and you want to use
this forum to expand exposure of your views. Or when you
want to formally correct the record, as when your
organization is involved in a legal or regulatory action; or
 Ask the publication to print a correction, especially when
your earnings or other pertinent financial information
affecting the price of your stock were misquoted.
How to handle errors

 When dealing with broadcast media, be prepared to

give your comments live if the program is a talk show
with a call-in format. They may tape your comments
for later broadcast.
 Or you may be called to appear on a guest editorial
giving your position if the issue is controversial or of
long term significance to your community.
 Be swift in correcting errors in the materials you send
out to the media:
 typo error - there’s no need to issue a correction and a
second release.
 significant mistake (misspelled name or factual error) --
call each recipient, apologize, give correct information,
and send out a revised version with the words “corrected
version” prominently written on top of the 1st page.
Correcting unbalanced
news
 It is inevitable that you or your employer will have a
complaint about media coverage. If this happens to
you, there are several steps you can take:
 Ascertain the facts- What exactly made the story unfair
or incomplete?
 It is not wise to tell the reporter that you didn’t like the
tone of article because it implied (rightly or wrongly) that
something was amiss. This kind of approach is very
subjective, and newspapers tend to ignore you unless
you can actually show where the news item is wrong or
partially untrue.
 Talk to the reporter- Call the
reporter and discuss the story
with him or her. Point out where
you think the story missed or
distorted key information. Often
, if the reporter agrees, he or
she will ask the editor to make a
correction.
 Talk to the editor - If the above
doesn’t work, you may wish to
write to the editor a letter or ask
for an interview.
 Record the interview - many
companies are now
demanding to video record
any press interview because it
provides good evidence if the
news report comes skewed or
distorted.
 File a lawsuit - This is the LAST
resort, but it should be
included in your list of options.
If you feel that a media outlet
has purposely and maliciously
distorted the truth or broken
an agreement, threat of legal
action may motivate the
media outlet to either write a
correction or publish a
retraction.
Reacting to attacks

Here are a few guidelines to follow when reacting to

attacks:
 Take the initiative in commenting on issues; don’t wait
for the press to call you.
 When you receive telephone inquiries from reporters
concerning controversial or otherwise difficult subjects,
promise to call back in a few minutes.
 The more difficult the story, the more important it is to
talk to the reporter personally. Write out a statement
and read it, or better still, e-mail it, to avoid mistakes.
 If compelled to issue information that could offset a
previous bad news story, get the specifics – reporter’s
name, news organization, the questions, how the
information will be used, and the deadline.
 Correct inaccurate news reports immediately; respond
while the issue is still in the news. Make sure the press
has your reply the same day.
 Make sure of your facts and data; wrong information is
worse than no information at all. When reacting to
negative policy, keep your thinking cool and watch
your words.
 Don’t answer a question with a “no comment.” Say, “I
believe a response at this time would be
inappropriate.”
 Don’t be lulled into a sense of security by a reporter’s
friendly attitude; he or she wants quotes and
information.
 “Off the record” comments are ill-advised as they are not
universally understood. Some reporters consider this to
mean that information may be published provided it’s
not attributed to its source.
Overcoming media
reluctance to cover stories
If a media outlet expresses reluctance to cover your story
or you’re not seeing follow-through about a topic you
feel it should be covering, try these tactics:
 Make sure your idea is newsworthy. Look at your topic
and ask yourself if it provides a fresh angle or
development. If a reporter turns you down, ask why.
 Appeal to public service. Make the case that
coverage on this issue would make a difference in the
communities the media serve.
Overcoming media
reluctance to cover stories
 Appeal to empathy. Often reporters themselves can
relate to the issue you bring. You might get a
sympathetic ear.
 Hit the opinion page. Encourage the opinion page of
your local paper to devote coverage to your issue
even if the news side won’t. Opinion page editors will
be more likely to respond if you offer a timely news
peg, like a forthcoming policy decision.
Media Training

 An important dimension
in media relations is
training the individuals
charged with speaking
directly with the media.
 Any interview can go
awry if the
spokesperson is ill
trained to tell the
organization’s story as
well as meet the
reporter’s needs.
What is media training?

 Preparation for interview: preparation, including

counseling and rehearsal, given to somebody before
an interview by the media or an appearance on radio
or television
 Strengthening communications skills
 Developing comfort in dealing with reporters
 Building confidence so that when speaking with
reporters, the person being interviewed will be able to
get their message points delivered
Benefits of media training

 Increases the likelihood that the spokesperson

understands, internalizes, and communicates the main
points that the public relations staff would ideally like
to see in a journalist’s story.
 Highlights the three primary roles of the organizational
spokesperson: expert, educator, and salesperson.
 Impresses on both internal and external clients the true
nature of challenges faced daily by media relations
professionals in their efforts to secure media coverage.
 The Media Trainer

Media training can be conducted either by internal public

relations staff or external agencies.
The Agency as the Media
Trainer
Before you decide on any agency:
 Find out if there’s a need for media training.
 Decide if you want to do it internally or engage a
consultant to train your spokespeople.
 Find out the names of agencies that conduct such
training. Contact and ask them to prepare a media
training proposal for your organization.
 Choose the best and most cost-effective proposal.
Invite the said agency to present their proposal to your
management. Ask specific questions during the
presentation. Decide on a date for the media training
workshop.
You as the Media Trainer: How
to conduct the sessions?

 Begin by eliciting feedback from trainees about their

media interview experience, as well as their thoughts
and feelings about coverage of the company.
 Explain the publicity process and how the reporters
obtain and use information.
 Cite relevant organization and industry developments
as well as introduce the trainees to the important
media outlets as well as reporters on your beat.
 Identify critical issues the organization needs to
communicate to the media, as well as difficult issues
likely to be raised by the reporters. Outline questions
based on these issues.
 Frame these issues in the form of one main message and
2-3 supporting messages.
 Provide practice sessions. Have simulation exercise,
face-to-face or phone interviews through role-play
sessions with you as the reporter. Videotape and
review these sessions.
 Provide third party resources on media and
presentation skills training to support points.
 Finally, create a training environment that fosters
active participation by trainees, has frank exchange
of ideas, and absolute openness.
 Keeping a session interactive and lively gets the trainees
excited about the story they’re telling—and that
guarantees they’ll tell the story better when it’s time to
meet actual media.
Let's have a look at some
interactive techniques

Break the Ice

Have each trainee introduce
themselves, explain what they
do at the company, what their
‘part of the story’ is, and if
they’ve done media interviews
before. Ask them how those
interviews went and what
question scares them most.
Let's have a look at some
interactive techniques
Elevator pitch

Ask each trainee to give a

one-minute elevator pitch
about the company.
After each trainee finishes,
offer your critique and then
go around the room and
see what others thought.
By the time you get to the
last trainee, that elevator
pitch ought to be tight and
on the mark.
Your Dream Headline
Ask each participant to write a dream headline about
their company - and to list 3-5 proof points essential to
making that headline a reality.
Then go around the room again and ask each trainee to
make a short presentation about their dream story and
the ingredients it needs.
 Let's have a look at some
interactive techniques
 Koosh Ball Q&A
 Good for big groups. Split the
trainees into even teams. Throw a
Koosh ball to a participant; he gets
20 secs to answer a random rude
question -may/may not be related
to the company.
 Rate his answer (1-10) then ask him
to throw the ball to someone on the
other team. The Q&A process
continues.
 Once the cycle’s complete, declare
winning team, and discuss what
answers did/did not work.